Small Town Boys
Union Theatre, September 10th - October 5th 2024
Union Theatre, September 10th - October 5th 2024
In the summer of 2023, two strangers’ cross paths in the USA and discover they both dated the same boy as teenagers in the North East of England. Through a series of flashbacks, the audience witness how both men’s past relationships flourished, unaware of each other’s existence. Small Town Boys is a raw and honest show about our first loves and how we put them on a pedestal.
Small Town Boys journeys through the lives of two men who came out early in their teenage years in the same area of England, exploring the gay scene in Middlesbrough through the lens of two strangers. It considers the impact Section 28 had on their upbringings as gay men from a homophobic area of the UK. The characters navigate an honest conversation about their lives, being older, and how being gay has affected them. The play sees the men’s evolving acceptance of themselves over time.
Follow us @smalltownboys24 for updates and behind-the-scenes moments!
in order of appearance
played by
Training: Cameron Mackintosh Scholarship to GSA.
West End Credits: Original West End Cast of Spamalot (u/s Lancelot); World Premiere cast of Mary Poppins (Northbrook and Valentine); Boy George’s Taboo (Steve Strange); Les Miserables; Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Hedwig); The Rocky Horror Show; Martin Guerre; and Miss Saigon.
Other Theatre: Annie Get Your Gun (Charlie Davenport – Frinton Summer Theatre), Mother Goose (Squire Purchase - Cambridge Arts Theatre), Aladdin (Abanazar - Sands Centre, Carlisle), Robin Hood (Sheriff of Nottingham - Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone), Anyone Can Whistle (Dr. Detmold - Southwark Playhouse)
Writing Credits: Nathan is probably best known for co-writing, appearing as one of the grooms, and getting married (for real!) in the Channel 4 programme, Our Gay Wedding: The Musical. Nathan and his husband Benjamin were nominated for a BAFTA for the film, as well as receiving nominations for eleven other major television awards, and winning three of them: The Grierson Award, The Prix Italia, and the Rose d’Or.
As part of an experiment for Sky Arts, to see if humans and computers can collaborate to write a hit musical, Nathan along with husband, Benjamin Till, co-wrote Beyond the Fence, set against the backdrop of the Greenham Common Peace Camp, with a little help—and a lot of hindrance—from computer programmes! The show ran for two weeks at London’s Arts Theatre, and was televised on Sky Arts, and was the subject of Sky Arts documentary, Computer Says Show.
Other stuff: Nathan is also a successful knitwear designer and innovator, with patterns published in many UK and US magazines, and has taught advanced, niche knitting techniques All over the UK, the US, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. He is the author of Guys Knit (Haynes Publishing, 2018), Sockmatician's Double-Knitted Brioche (Self published, 2023), and Demystifying Double-Knitting (The Crowood Press, 2023).
played by
Performing Theatre Credits include: Betty Blue Eyes (London, Union), Passion (Manchester, Hope Mill Theatre), Whistle down the Wind (London, Union) Flat Out (London, Gatehouse), Sweeney Todd (Brighton, London Road), Spend Spend Spend (London, Union), Casanova (London, Kings Head), La Cage Aux Folles (UK Tour & English Theatre, Frankfurt), Sing-Along-A-Abba (UK Tour, Whitehall Theatre West End and Hammerstein Ballroom Broadway NYC), Waiting for the Dawn (London, Arts theatre), The Bet (West End,Criterion), The Merry Widow (Holland Park Opera), Duet for One (Riverside Studios), Best of Broadway (European Tour), Hollywood & Broadway (UK Tour & London Palladium), Magic of the Musicals (UK Tour and London Palladium), Oh Yes it Is (UK Tour)
Acting TV credits include, Sally Forever (NBC), Crown & Country (Ardent) and commercials for McDonalds 2023 Xmas campaign, Sage, Quickbooks, Brighthouse, Quick Burger and More Magazine.
Stuart is also a regular presenter for all things Canine and his credits include BBC’s Pooch Perfect, Lorraine, This Morning, The Jonathan Ross Show, The Alan Titchmarsh show, Russel Howards Big News, GMTV and Britains got Talent
Stuart has choreographed many UK Tours and West End workshops and also performed in numerous pantomimes across the UK.
played by
Dominic graduated from East 15 Acting School in 2018 and made his professional stage debut with The Oxford Shakespeare Company, where he played Edgar Linton in a new adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
Since leaving drama school he has worked on stage in both London and Germany performing as Queen Mary of Tek in Put it in the Car Cynthia (Barons Court Theatre), Charmian in Anthony and Cleopatra (Stockwell Playhouse), Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations (English Theatre of Hamburg) and most recently as Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray (Euro Theatre Central).
He has worked with emerging writers as both an actor and director performing in Kill Them(Canal Cafe Theatre) and Eat for Me (Charity Event for CALM) and directing Splinter (King’s Head Theatre).
Whilst training his credits include: The Country Wife, Blue Stockings, Romeo and Juliet , The Homecoming and Three Sisters.
Written and Directed by
Tim McArthur, is an actor, writer, and Theatre Director. His Writing credits include A Word for Mother, (Upstairs at the Gatehouse), Deeper and Deeper (Union Theatre), The Queens Laundry (Toy Project London Schools and Hospitals), Control (Bridge Theatre and Hen and Chickens). Facing Time, (Fireside Mystery Theatre Company NYC). Eurovision Your Decision (Above The Stag, Wonderville and Kings Head Theatre), Puss (Wonderville) In September 2024 his play Small Town Boys opens at the Union Theatre.
Directing work includes Eurovision Your Decision, (Kings Head, Wonderville and ATS), The A-Z of Gay Sex, (ATS) Turning the Screw (Kings Head and Wimbledon Theatre) Beans, Cream (Canal). Into The Woods, A Perfect Christmas (Cockpit), The Sunny Side of The Street, Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered (Jermyn St), Metropolis, Wonderful Town, A Little Night Music, (Rose and Crown), Tim was Associate Director at ATS credits there include. Maurice, My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous, The Blink Series and Bathhouse. At the Royal Vauxhall Tavern- Charming Dick, Goosed, Rubbed, Slipped, Pricked, Tossed (Offie Winner Best Panto Ensemble 2023). Several seasons of Newsrevue London and (Edinburgh Pleasance).
His acting credits include the Demetrius in Eurovision Your Decision (2024 Kings Head and 2023 Wonderville) Cook in Queens Laundry UK Tour for the Toy Project. Baker in Into the Woods and soloist in A Perfect Christmas (Cockpit); In Gay Company (RADA); Bathhouse and The Silence of the Lambs (Above the Stag); Assassins (Pleasance); Blair on Broadway (Arts); Company (Westcliff); Forever Plaid (UK tour); South Pacific (Aberystwyth); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Chelmsford and Middlesbrough); Godspell (Millfield); As You Like It (Colchester); Another Country and Twelfth Night (Catford); You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow and The Golden Key (Greenwich); Fred Astaire: His Daughter’s Tribute (London Palladium); Dame in Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Dick Whittington and Cinderella (Hereford); Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Hayes); Aladdin (Chelmsford) and Charming Dick (Cockpit). From 2018 he has been Dame in Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin and Robin Hood at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings for Qdos. From 2022 for Imagine Theatre Beauty and the Beast and 2023 and Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. This year he plays Hook in Peter Pan.
In March 2018, Tim performed his one-man show Mountains at 54 Below(NYC) Drews on Halstead(Chicago), St James Theatre, Jermyn Street, Above the Arts; Tim McArthur and Chums (London Hippodrome); A New Direction (Theatre Lounge in Kuala Lumpur); Ding Dong (Purcell Room) Tim Sings Sondheim’s Divas (UK tour, Above the Arts, Pride Arts Centre, Chicago and Tada Theatre, NYC). Ding Dong (Don’t Tell Mama, NYC), He has supported Helen Lederer (UK tour); Graham Norton (Hilton); Julian Clary (Savoy) and, for three years has hosted monthly concerts for the Sondheim Society; appeared in Sondheim Unplugged (Hippodrome) and SingEasy (Pianoworks, London) and also presenter on Stages The Musical Theatre Festival on the Explorer of The Seas
His television credits include EastEnders; Ginger Beer and The Richard Blackwood Show. He appeared in two of Passengers Music Videos in 2020. And a commercial for Bwin (Spain)
Tim’s radio credits include A Chorus Line, Sweet Charity, Fiddler on the Roof and Sweet Charity.
Presenting credits include The Curtain Up Show (Resonance 104.4 FM); The Green Room (Encore Radio); West End Wilma Awards (2014–2024); West End Eurovision Red Carpet (2013–2014); West End Christmas (St Pauls), BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC London, Gaydar Radio and Tim McArthur Interviews on Theatre Radio. He also presents Healthy Acting on Mensradio Station and on Box Office Radio.
He has interviewed live on stage, Biggins, Bonnie Langford, Harriet Thorpe, Helen Lederer, Janie Dee, Gyles Brandreth and in 2021 he toured with Duncan James in Duncan and Tim’s Big Camp Show.
Sister Mary
Tim created the comedy character Sister Mary 2023 - On Ya Knees, Mary’s Playtime (Ed Fest – Frankenstein’s 2018/17); Celebrity Nun (Gilded Balloon); On Your Knees (Jermyn Street); Sister Mary Pops In (New Space Theatre – Cape Town) and Don’t Tell Mama (NYC); When Will I be Famous (BBC) Elton John’s Christmas Party and regularly at Soho Nights at The Phoenix. Sister Mary made her acting debut playing Mother Superior in Nunsense at the Landor Theatre. Summer 2023 she played the Red Eye in NYC, New Jersey Rep Theatre, USA and The ice Palace Fire Island. Summer 2024, Sister Mary performed an 8 week run of her show at the Red Room In Provincetown (USA and The Laurie Beechman Theatre in NYC.
His recording credits include Fred Astaire: His Daughter’s Tribute, Bathhouse, Dangerous Cabaret and Tim’s debut album, Don’t Be Anything Less.
@mcarthur.tim on instagram
Assistant Director
Madeleine is an actor, singer and stand up comedian with projects including Fringe First Winning A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad) and Breathless (Soho Theatre & Brits Off Broadway Transfer; Drama Desk Outstanding Solo Performance Nominee).
She was the Max Turner Prize Winner ‘21, a Funny Women Semi-Finalist & ‘One To Watch’ and BBC New Comedy Award Regional selection.
Directing and assistant roles include Stranger Sings (The Vaults); annual pantomimes at Hereford Courtyard and Strawberry Starburst for IYAF (Rose Theatre, Kingston).
Set Design
Jessie Huckin is a multi-disciplinary, neuro-diverse creative based in South East London.
Her film work involves being Art Director and Production Designer for commercials, short films, music videos, charity films and educational films. They Art Directed ‘When I grow up’ with BigEggFilms, which won the bronze award at the Charity Film Awards 2020. She has Production Designed films alongside BAFTA and OSCAR nominated short film crew, starring BAFTA nominated actors Ellora Torchia and Afsaneh Dehrouyeh. Production designing for brands has included for Outernet London, and clients including Virgin, Samsung, and THIS.
She also works as a Set, Props and Costume Designer, set builder, scenic artist for theatre. Their projects range from designing and creating a family friendly ‘Mini Magic Flute’ opera with Opera North, painting costumes for the English National Ballet ‘Dance Journeys’ and set, costume and prop design for Best Dance Production Black British Theatre Award nominated ‘Saturn Returns’, with Gateway Arts; recently performed at the Southbank Centre.
Jessie is led creatively by stories that enhance the platform for the vulnerable, oppressed or marginalized communities, with the human experience being at the forefront.
Costume Design
Michelle has made clothes from the age of 7, when she drew around her legs to make a pair of purple paisley trousers. She was devastated when they didn’t fit….
Since then, Michelle has studied pattern cutting at Dunstable college and things have improved.
Michelle started by making clothes from spray painted saris and selling them at festivals. She now makes costumes for opera companies, cabaret, pantomimes and youth productions with casts of over 100 actors. She has costumed contemporary and period plays.
Michelle loves a sketchbook and a list and is happy to see projects through from the initial concept and designs, the making and fittings, to writing and assisting actors with costume plots and handling all budgets.
Lighting Design
Stage Manager
Music Composition & Arrangement
Aaron has received eleven Off-West End Award Nominations for Musical Director and was nominated for a Broadway World Award for The Apple Tree (Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre).
Favourite credits as Musical Director include: Into the Woods (The Cockpit); Betty Blue Eyes (Union Theatre); Marry Me a Little (Stage Door Theatre); Romance Romance, [title of show] and Grindr The Opera (Above The Stag Theatre); Metropolis, The Kissing Dance, Wonderful Town and A Little Night Music (Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre); Faking Bad and Closer To Heaven (Turbine Theatre); Sleeping Beauty (Charing Cross Theatre); My Land’s Shore (Theatr Soar); It’s a Bird...It’s A Plane...It’s Superman (Leicester Square Theatre); The Ripper’s Five (Theatro Technis); Naked Boys Singing (King’s Head Theatre and Garden Theatre); Sondheim by Sondheim (Roundhouse); Next Thing You Know (Garden Theatre); Dorian the Musical (Southwark Playhouse and The Other Palace); Soho Boy, (Drayton Arms Theatre) and Cinderella (White Rock Theatre), The Addams Family (Theatre Royal Windsor).
Credits as Orchestrator: include: Romance Romance, Grindr The Opera, Metropolis, Into The Woods, 110 In The Shade, and My Land’s Shore.
Cabaret credits include: Mountains – A Musical Journey (St. James Studio and Jermyn Street Theatre); An Evening of Sondheim (Lauderdale House); Don’t Ask the Lady! and Dorothy and Friends (Crazy Coqs); The Stephen Sondheim Society Presents (Phoenix Artists Club); and Tim McArthur and Friends (Hippodrome Casino).
Recording credits include: Grindr The Opera and The Pleasure Garden (Jay Records).
@aaronclingham
Voiceover Artist
Marketing
PR
Graphic Design
Production Photography
For Daddy's Money Productions
Chris is excited to be producing their first "straight" play. Huge thanks to my fiancee Thomas and our furry child, Bramble.
With heartfelt thanks to the support provided by Lauderdale House, Sasha and Lee at the Union Theatre. Special thanks to Ray and Jen Mansell and John Owen for their generous financial support, without whom this production would not have been possible.
Small Town Boys contains profanity and strong sexual references throughout.